A Guide to the Collection

Alvin Colt began work in theater costume design in New York in the late 1930s. He worked as a costume and set designer on more than 80 Broadway shows, in television and in movies. From 1963 to 1986, he designed the annual Neiman Marcus store Fortnight celebrations in Dallas, Texas. Each Fortnight had a different country theme. The Colt Fortnight collection includes original working drawings, sketches, designer elevations, blueprints, posters and photographic prints, correspondence from Stanley Marcus to Alvin Colt, and clippings relating to the Neiman Marcus department store's annual Fortnight event. Designs and many drawings are by Alvin Colt. Some renderings were drawn by Robert Eickmeyer and John Duncan.

Alvin Colt was born in Louisville, Kentucky on July 5, 1915. Foreshadowing his future career interest, as a child he built a theater in the attic of his family home. He attended Yale’s department of drama (1934-37) and was the youngest member of his class. He worked in summer theater and moved to New York City. Colt began designing for what became the New York City Ballet. His Broadway debut was with On the Town in 1944. Colt designed costumes for the hit Guys & Dolls in 1950, and in 1957 received a Tony award for Costume Design for Pipe Dream. During his career, Colt designed costumes for more than 80 Broadway shows, television and movies.

From 1963 to 1986, Colt designed the installations for the annual Fortnight extravaganzas at the downtown Neiman Marcus store in Dallas, Texas. The Fortnights were an annual celebration of different countries' culture and design. They were splashy cultural, social, historical, fine art, culinary and fashion celebrations that greatly broadened the horizons of north Texans at the time. They were attended by dignitaries such as the ambassadors from Denmark and Thailand, the Queen of Thailand, Prince Ranier and Grace Kelly, movie star Sophia Loren, and artist Francoise Gilot to name a few. The planning and construction of these events required traveling thousands of miles in two years and took hundreds of people to produce. The Fortnights events were a brilliant blending of commercial, theatrical, and cultural elements. Also included are photographs and correspondence related to Stanley Marcus’s 90th birthday celebration in 1995, in which Colt was involved.

Sources:

"Fashion Fortnights."Women’s Wear Daily, Oct. 22, 1969.

"It’s like all acts of Ringling Brothers Circus."Dallas Downtown News, June 12, 1978.

The Colt collection consists of matted elevations, working drawings, blueprints, photostats, photographs, clippings and correspondence relating to Colt’s designs for the Neiman Marcus Fortnights, 1963-1986. The collection illustrates the broad variety of designs created to transform the store with a theme usually related to an individual country. There are 703 drawings and blueprints, 32 posters, and 977 photographic prints which are arranged by year and Fortnight.

Also included is correspondence from Stanley Marcus, Neiman Marcus President and later Chairman Emeritus, mostly relating to the 25 Neiman’s Fortnights and their creation. There are also clippings from newspapers and magazines about the Fortnights and Colt. There are approximately 150 letters and postcards.

The Colt Neiman Marcus Fortnight designs were not arranged in a chronological order nor were they all grouped together by Fortnight. Anne E. Peterson, Curator, arranged them by year and type of process. During processing, the large-scale drawings were transferred to acid-free folders and mylar sleeves. The photographs and correspondence have also been arranged in chronological order and moved to acid-free storage sleeves, folders and boxes.

This series includes 703 drawings, blueprints and photostats. There are also 32 posters. These materials are organized by subject and arranged chronologically. They are stored in oversize folders. See the end of this finding aid for an Alphabetized Listing of the Fortnights by Country or Subject.

This series contains correspondence from Stanley Marcus, at one time Neiman Marcus President and Chairman Emeritus, to designer Alvin Colt, 1963 to 2001. Total correspondence: approximately 150 letters and postcards; miscellaneous clippings related to Fortnights. A photograph of Alvin Colt, circa 1970, is in Box 5, Folder 2. Collection includes one audiotape and one videotape.